


Princess Consort Overtakes the World?!

by RipplingSnow



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Age Difference, Ancient China, F/F, F/M, Female Protagonist, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Poverty, Rags to Riches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-04 19:13:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20476136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RipplingSnow/pseuds/RipplingSnow
Summary: Lysithea always had a difficult life from being poor. This only worsened as her father remarried and they were brought into House Ordelia, a living hell on Earth. While her father is away on political errands, she was treated with backbreaking work as they took advantage of sweet nature. Eventually her personality warped into that of cold and indifference towards other people, this lands her banished to the deserted landscape of the Cold Manor.However she manages to find a wounded thief in her courtyard due to this. With not much time she manages to save the thief's life, only to be met with a strange note.





	1. Winter

Cold air slowly rose through the air for the pitch black darkness of the night. Cold air was settling around the courtyard as the wind carried the white flakes, dotting the ground with large amounts of snow. Colorful paintings, depicting parades and fireworks, were pasted at the entrance. Tons of fat, huge lanterns were strung up on strings and hung around the walls. Firecracker sounds could be heard from outside of the main building. Everyone within this residence was having the time of their life, enjoying the holiday with glee. Even the younger generation was having a blast, eating candy while opening expensive presents from their parents. On the other side of the residence was a different story, the courtyard was completely empty and barren except for worn down old tree decorating the outer edges.

A few elder maids walked down the outer corridor, dressed in dark green coats, with carrying a basket of leftover food. This food was lackluster and cold, compared to the rich nutrients that glistened inside the main household. Just then the wind brought cold air to their face, they shuttered at the cold touch of winter. A strange odor permeated throughout the residence; the stench was foul, even rotten. The maid could feel the stench on her taste-buds, she gagged then held her nose close with her hand. "I don't know why Madam let's this worthless being here." The younger maid, Anna, rolled her eyes while looking across the snow covered courtyard.

They were quick to leave the courtyard, crossing over the snow and into the innermost room. The woman stayed silent however, although her heart silently agreed with this statement. Despite having a good for nothing young miss to attend to, this was better than being in a brothel somewhere. They should at least save the young miss some face before thinking ill about her lest they face the monarch's face. No one would rather want to face the old croon's wrath, no matter if she was a good for nothing miss or not. As they reached the Young Miss's room, it took everything in their power not to leave the area from the raw stench of the room.

"The smell is rather unpleasant. I hope that thing finally died, maybe we can finally stop coming here." Anna whispered to the older woman, hoping she would be eager to agree with her. "Quiet! No matter what, Third Miss is still a young miss of this house. If you speak ill of her and someone overhears, there will be no saving you." The eldest snapped at her. Anna silenced herself hastily at this remark. Opening the sliding door to the Young Miss's room, they were met with the full force of the awful odor. All of that was in the room is a broken table, a bed tucked in the corner of the room, a small wooden dresser, and a rundown fireplace. The fireplace didn't even have wood to burn, making the room as cold as Winter's embrace outside.

The room was covered in completely covered in dust; despite someone living in the room it looked like the place was completely abandoned. The only light coming from inside was a dim lit lantern hanging near the entrance to the room, leaving the rest of the room in a long shadow. Anna grimaced at the smell, her disgust with the young girl ever increasing the room she stood in front of her. "Young Miss, we have brought leftovers from the kitchen. Eat your fill." The youngest maid made no effort to give her any face, throwing her food down on the floor. She did not even attempt to hide her disdain for the girl who was supposed to be their employer's third young daughter. The young woman in front of them held long flowing white hair and was dressed in a dirty, tattered white dress.

She was clearly dirty as even mud was caked over her fingers, her dress was covered in dirt from today's grueling tasks. Her white hair was caked with dirt from mud outside and dirt from within the room. Anna hated being here in this courtyard, even in the face of such filth. "A dog needs to learn how to speak before barking." Her eyes were indifferent as she coldly glared at the woman in front of her. "You-?! How dare a good for nothing-" A large smack was heard. The girl in front of her smack her hand across her cheeking, leaving a red hand-print on her face. Lysithea wasn't done, she continued to layer smacks after smacks on the older woman's cheeks. Anna screamed before tearing herself away from the little she-devil. "You! Wait until Madam Lina here's about this!" With this in mind the servant didn't even bow before leaving, at the expense of the other two maids in the room. Anna left no face for their young miss.

"Forgive her, young miss. She needs to adjust to life here at the manor." The older maid bowed while looking at the girl in front of her. She thought it was a pity that such beauty of the Young Miss was hidden behind the filth of uncleanliness. Although Lysithea didn't seem to mind this fact, she seemed rather contempt with such arrangements. "Here you are Young Miss. Fresh clothes for the week." The middle woman, who was silent throughout the exchange of the others, finally spoke up. She laid her basket on top of the broken table before bowing and taking her leave out the door. The young girl didn't even bother to look at the food in front of her, instead she continued to stare at the elder maids. They didn't dare to make a mistake or face the wrath of the young miss in front of them.

_Maybe I should've warned Anna before entering about her temper beforehand?_ The eldest woman bowed again before talking her leave as well, leaving the young miss to herself. Lysithea was known to have a rough, black-bellied personality. She was known to lash out on servants and family members indiscriminately, causing an issue between her and her family. This was one of the reasons why she was banished to the Cold Mansion in the first place, no one wanted to deal with her. Despite not being talented in magic or even swordsmanship that personality was the only thing good about her. The short, young maiden blinked as the door closed back in place and silence resumed throughout the room. Lysithea sighed with happiness in her thoughts, finally she wouldn't be disturbed anymore for the remainder of the day.

"You can come out now." Her own little servant wandered out of her hiding place, opening the door of the dresser and quickly walking out. Lysithea's eyes reverted from cold to holding a small candle of warmth within them when her eyes laid upon the young girl. "Y-Young Miss! Please forgive this servant for spying on you! This servant didn't dare mean any harm!" A tall, young maid with her aqua colored hair, combed into a topknot bun, hurriedly kowtow to her master. Her name was Marianne von Edmund, the only servant that's been around her since she entered the family. She was dressed in a black and white dress, one of cheap, poor quality fabric.

Even from the poor light and where she was standing, Lysithea could see the blisters of the cold on her legs. The young maid didn't dare to look at her master in fear of getting lashed out; due to her sneaking means of hiding in her dresser. "It is fine, Marianne. I am not mad at you one bit, how about we clean up this place first. Maybe we can find some food after this?" She smiled softly at her. This was one of the few times she would express emotions outside of her emotionless facade she held on her face every time she interacted with others. Of course she was the only one that she treated like family, they held a special bond between each other. When Marianne saw this smile, it was like all the darkness that plagued the room evaporated.

"Ah It's so bright." Truly her young miss was like the sun, pure and innocent. Even if the others in the household hated and treated her young miss badly, Marianne would defend her to her very last breath. She would be her lady's sword and shield, even if thieves came she would fight them off one by one until nothing was left of them. This was how dedicated to Lysithea, in her heart her loyalty to her mistress would always come first over even familial bonds. "Now can you quickly get up? There is much work to be done and I would rather not do this alone." Lysithea began rolling up the sleeves of her dress, making sure that they would snag on anything.

It's only been a few hours since she was banished here and yet her family was already acting like she was invisible, like she was the black sheep of the family. Marianne picked herself off the ground after her young mistress assured her it was fine to do so. Assessing the status of the room, the young girl could only fathom why they sent her mistress to such a cold and deserted place. There was tons of cracks and spiderwebs that lined the wall, even finding furniture had been difficult in it's own right. Luckily all they had to do was clean up the place to make it subtle for someone to live in. Lysithea was prepared to do some heavy lifting to reorganize her new room to her liking.

"We're going to need hot water, could you fetch a few logs of firewood from the main house? Make sure not to get caught." Her family hated her and she feared that they would punish her servant without even a second thought on the matter. There would be nothing left of her if she lost Marianne, she wouldn't be able to forgive herself if something happened to her because of her. However this was a risk she was willing to take if they could get warmth that could last through the cold endless winter. "Certainly, Young Miss. I will bring back as much as I can." Marianne quickly bowed before exiting the room herself. Deep down she hoped that nothing would happen to her young miss while she was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello I decided to do a Chinese LN inspired story between Claude and Lysithea, set in the Ancient China. Don't worry I will continue to update 'A Flickering Flame' along with this story so please bare with me while I set up equal time between these two stories.
> 
> Like always, let me know about any comments/ideas you may have for the story. I don't mind reading input and having such ideas come into fruition.


	2. Family

Lysithea started to clean her room, starting with taking everything out of the room altogether. She moved everything into the corner, pushing her little feet across the dirty floor with difficulty. Luckily she managed to move the furniture, leaving only a dirty floor. Moving things took a lot out of her, sweat began trickling slowly down her face. Taking a break while wiping the sweat away from her brows, the young girl sat down on her makeshift bed. The current year was Imperial Year X346, 31 Ethereal Moon. It was New Years and yet her so called family didn't even bother to visit her at all. While she was sitting in the darkness other occupants of the residence were beaming with happiness, in harmony with the feeling of a New Year’s Eve dinner. 

It was an extraordinary scene that was bustling with noise and excitement. Six main dishes were spread across the table, they had been cooked meticulously with attention to detail of the traditions of their religion. The meat and vegetables complemented each other on each dish. There were spicy steamed striped bass cooked with bean sprouts, braised pork, basil-infused smoked chicken, mixed vegetables, onion and lamb dumplings, and lemon fried shrimp. Everything they were eating, Lysithea couldn't have and was forced to starve in this courtyard. She hated being here but she had no choice in the matter. Under the strict control of the family's monarch over the finances, House Ordelia always had up-keeping like other houses in the Leicester Alliance. 

However she was always stuck with the tasks that the other children wouldn’t do. After her birth-mother died, Adam, her father, was in a state of complete shock. He didn't know what to do since he was raising a young child by himself, he didn't know how to properly care for his own child. He was conflicted since he needed both money and a wife to be a motherly figure towards his precious little girl. Many self-righteous hypocrites wouldn't dare help them in their time of need, even though they say they are part of the Church of Serios, because her family was poor. 

Of course Adam wasn't a bad looking man, he was quite handsome with his hazelnut eyes and hair, and he was well kept for a poor man. It was just the social status of this world, for someone that didn't have any means of status then he was on a rocky path. He just barely made enough money through selling bread to get them through the winter, it was a difficult life for a poor man. Each day he would get up at the crack of dawn, run down to the mills to get bread and walk around the town to try and earn money. Lysithea would wait home, keeping quiet from others that could hurt her. 

Sometimes even her father would come home beaten and bruised due to getting mugged by others. Never did she ever once see her father falter when trying to take care of her, often sacrificing his own meals so she could eat her fill. This continued up until Lysithea was the age of 5, where her stepmother entered her life Alice Ordelia, her stepmother, was apart of House Ordelia, one of the main branches that supported the kingdom within the Leicester Alliance. Her father saved her from thieves trying to kidnap her for her money, they fell in love at first sight. However since her father didn’t have a title or even a name for himself, the family decided to condone the marriage. 

So they eloped in hopes of starting a life together. Together with small Lysithea, they ran away from the kingdom and into a far away village to live as farmers. They didn’t even last a full month before they were found by the Ordelia House, who killed her father in cold blood. Because Lysithea was so young at that time, they decided to adopt her as one of their daughters in the family. The patriarchs of the family thought that they would save face this way in the eyes of their peers. At that same time, Lysithea witnessed her father’s murder and swore vengeance on House Ordelia.

At first everyone in the manor was kind and considerate to her, often treating her honestly as one of their own. Four years after her father’s death, a wandering Taoist came to the manor and divined her personality to be unyielding from a glance. She was said to bear bad luck for her parents, and her life was destined to be the bane of another’s existence. This was when their attitude towards her completely changed to the worst. Lola, Alice’s daughter from her previous marriage, began to treat her as an outsider. She caused her trouble, either telling the monarch, Elizabeth Ordelia, that she was doing adultery actions with a servant boy or accusing her of stealing jewelry from her room. 

Because, she was an illegitimate child through means of a marriage, she was subjected to unfair treatment from everyone in the family. The other members of the family hated her just as so, often going out of their way to make her life difficult. The head of the family was Prime Minister Gin. He was a well kept, hard working man that was clearly bias over which child was his favorite. He was a sleazeball that couldn’t keep himself entertained with his concubines, often going out and pleasing himself through brothels. In total there are 3 concubines with House Ordelia; Madam Alice, Aunt Gina, and Aunt Myu. Madam was given to the head concubine of the family, in this case it was Alice.

The head concubine is in charge of the money and gifts handed out to all the other residences in their manor. Madam Alice only has one daughter, First Sister Lola. First Sister refers to the order of their age; in this case Lola was 12 and a year away from marriageable age. In the face of others she was the perfect doll, polite and elegant with her manners. However behind closed doors, Lola was a untamed child; she was difficult to please and often acted like a spoiled brat. She was very beautiful for her age even, the only problem was her shrewd personality just like Aunt Gina.

Aunt Lina was someone who was avaricious, stingy and extremely shrewd. Every day, she did not fail to scold and humiliate Lysithea indirectly. She has a son and two daughters with Gin. The son, First Brother Arthur, was a complete pervert. He would hit on every girl that would cross his path. The daughter, Second Sister Fang, wielded sharp and unkind words. She was only the age of 11 while her brother was a year older than her. Younger Sister Lin was kind and considerate on the outside. She was truly two-faced, just like Lola, and often Lola’s henchman in her crimes. This being said, the two were at odds with each other constantly over boys, they both used underhand methods when trying to win the affection of their chosen suitor. 

It was a miracle that they even sat at the same table when the discussion of boys came into play. Together they all bullied Lysithea day and day out, often forcing upon her their chores so they can take the time to relax. Aunt Myu was the only concubine without a child, she was the only parental figure towards Lysithea. If there was one person that she didn’t hate besides Marianne, that would be Myu. She is kind and considerate, often low speaking and keeping to herself in the events of the harem. As she was lonely without children, seeing Lysithea mother and fatherless, it sparked her own saddened emotions buried in her chest. The two got along great together, however it started to become increasingly difficult to see each other.

Madam Alice wanted to separate the two from each other. She even went as far as to pin adultery accusations on Aunt Myu in hopes of getting her to break. Each time this happened, Lysithea would back her up against the accusations of the First Concubine with proof of what transpired that day between them. As a result she would always have to save face and apologize to the lesser concubine. When this didn’t work in her favor, Madam Alice shifted her attention towards Lysithea in hopes of destroying her reputation. These attempts escalated to the point where she was lured into the library, using the pretense that her servant was in trouble, only to get thrown on the ground with Arthur. To make matters worse, as the man was laying on top of her in an act of intimacy, Elizabeth so happened to walk in on him pinning her to the ground. 

She was called a vixen and immediately given 20 beatings with a stick because of it. Arthur managed to skate free as he pushed the blame entirely on her, earning another 20 beats. At first monarch wanted her to be a nun and send her away to the temple. Gossip could be heard from outside mentioning that Lysithea was already seducing men at such a young age, without caring about her invaluable body. This was simply not true as she was tricked into going in the kitchen, though who would believe in her then? As a result of this marred reputation, when Lysithea met the elders face to face in the future, the title of temptress befell her. 

To save the face of their house, Madam Alice wanted to appear to be the sweet mother she claimed she was. Of course the woman knelled and begged for many days for her to change her mind. Eventually they settled on banishing her to this courtyard, a desolate lonely place that everyone in the family dreaded. With the passing of the New Years and the upcoming festival, the gossip should be slowly leaving the minds of the outside world. However Lysithea would continue to be banished away to this empty courtyard while others partake in Fodlan’s founding celebration. 

As long as no one from the imperial family came, things would continue like this. She would be treated as trash while the other members in her so called family taunted and laughed at her in her face. Now thinking about it after all this time, it was Alice and Lola’s actions that they took everything from her. However for Lysithea this was the perfect opportunity to finally be away from those demons and work on her own vengeance. This was not something that she could endure. Her purpose was not to be taken advantage of without reason and there was always a price to pay for everything a person did. It would take some time for her to rebuild her reputation however she won’t be an easy target for those wanting to pick fights with her. 

Thus, she singled Arthur out as the first target to meet her blade. Lysithea’s face gave way to a small smirk as the young girl began to think about her plan to get back at the older brother. Her gaze slowly moved towards her room door leading to the courtyard, giving a blank stare as she looked at the empty space. If they wanted a war, then they best be sure to be prepared for the consequences. Hearing footsteps outside her door, the young girl glanced up only to see her door thrown open.

This only revealed a pair of woman and man standing in the doorway. The man had an imposing look on his face, Lysithea could tell that her foster father was standing in the door. As for the woman standing on his right, just judging from the pale skin, silk black hair, and rose flushed lips; she didn’t need to analyze anymore. It was obvious that her younger sister Lin was standing next to him. Judging from the looks on their faces, the three were here to bother her, compared to sharing warm family greetings. They were all dressed in celebratory colors, sporting festive yellow colors compared to her own bland white. 

_ Ah why are their colors so bright?! _ Lysithea had to tear herself away from looking at them before her own eyes were etched in darkness from the overly bright fabric colors. “Sister are you okay? I heard you slipped and fell into the lake today, how’s your body holding up? My mother said to check on you today so.. do you need me to fetch the physician?” Her sweet voice flowed into her ears, worry clearly emanate in her voice. If Lysithea wasn’t used to her own manipulative ways, she would’ve thought she was acting like a genuine little sister. It was pathetic honestly, sicken even watching the little girl try her hand at manipulating her.

“Elder Sister how can you just ignore me like this? Wuwuwu… Did I do something wrong perhaps? I, I....” Tears began slipping down Lin’s face as she sobbed at her older sister. She started to act like a little child once she realized her older sister wasn’t falling for her act. Lysithea truthfully enjoyed the little display before her. The crocodile tears were a nice touch, she really was trying to sell this performance. It appeared to have worked as their father turned his attention towards her. Gin walked forward and wrapped his arms around his crying daughter. “How could you let your little sister cry?! Apologize right now.” Gin’s face was flushed with anger as he glared down at his useless daughter. If they hadn’t adopted this girl into their family back then, they wouldn’t be ridiculed by others like this. 

“Father…” Lin called to him, with mild sweetness. Lysithea rolled her eyes, trying to keep herself from throwing up. “Hush… it’s okay. You did nothing wrong, all you did was worry about your older sister. There is no need to get upset towards this vicious woman.” Gin expressed his love towards his daughter, comforting her in his embrace.  _ Your bias is showing. _ Lysithea bitterly thought this as she watched the exchange between father and child. Like an on and off button, Lin’s tear immediately stopped after Gin’s comments. 

“Elder Sister… how could you hurt my maid? She was only trying to help you and yet, you pushed her away. Why are you so mean?” Lin’s voice held a little tremble as she spoke.  _ Obviously your maid wronged me and yet you are standing up for her? What a joke.  _ Lysithea thought this while looking at the disgraceful pair in front of her. Could these people be anymore shameless? 


	3. Food

Lysithea’s brain was starting to hurt the more she was forced to be in this position between the two idiots in front of her. She thought they would leave after showing their grievances towards her. But, Lin Ordelia did not have any sort of intentions. Her cold eyes gazed over to the pair. “I have no time for such discussions, if you would please move out of my room. I have plans to attend to.” Her voice was monotone but her eyes were throwing daggers directly at them. A twinkle of dislike flashed through Lin’s eyes but they settled down.

“Father, Elder Sister won't apologize for hitting my servant.” Lin was abrupt by her eyes but slowly composed herself, hiding herself behind Gin. Lysithea glanced up at the sky; what she really wanted was peace and quiet. She also wanted these two idiots to leave her alone, go crawling back to the cave they came out of. “Pa-!” A forceful slap sent her flying off of her bed, onto the dirty floor below. The slap rattled her brain against her skull, leaving her in a daze. Her left cheek was aching with pain, making it difficult to process what had just transpired. She tasted blood in her mouth and her left eye slowly swelling. Just how weak was her body to get thrown off her bed? 

“Puh!” She quickly spit out the blood gathering in her mouth. Lysithea was a little shocked that her father had actually put her hands on her, rather he was always known to address things with words rather than actions. However, seeing him act like this today, this put him under a worse light than previous. In her heart she secretly cursed him along with his offspring. Holding her swollen, painful cheek, Lysithea could barely make out the words being yelled at her. “You evil woman! You should respect your sister more! Stop making hardships on her.” Gin was yelling curses at her, even kicking her fallen body a few times.

“Sister are you perhaps upset that I am engaged to the Crown Prince? Is that why you hit my servant to take revenge on me? I know you did fancy him...” The only person they were talking about was Crown Prince Dimitri. The Crown Prince never held her eye, it was just the other servants were always talking about him whenever she walked past. They gained that assumption based on just talk, not even taking the chance to gather proof. In truth she didn’t particularly care for someone such as him, rather she focused on herself. “Or maybe you just felt jealous that I was the one in the family with superb magic abilities?” This simply wasn’t the case either. She wasn’t jealous of her sister to begin with; who was praised in the family because of her mastery over elemental magic.

Those were lies being spread about her. Just because Lysithea couldn’t even use magic, didn’t mean that she was suddenly trash. Just because her mana lines were blocked didn’t mean she was trash, however that’s not what the world sees. In a world where status ruled everything, even using magic was considered special. Only few people could possess magic, even then those with rare abilities were worshiped. Many groups try to win over mages once their status is discovered, no matter what element or abilities they possess. 

Suddenly Gin’s expression turned gloomy when he realized that it could be a possibility that Lysithea could be jealous of her sister. He glared down at the daughter he considered trash. “Listen you trash! You must get along with Lin as she will be the Crown Princess soon. You can’t afford to offend her in the future. If you dare bully her, the Crown Prince wont even dare to hesitate to make you regret your measly existence.”

His presence was truly powerful, all color vanished from her already pale skin. “Yes, sir.” She replied softly, quietly lowering her head into a bow. Her bands hid her cold eyes well as she stared down at the floor. If Lysithea didn’t know that this was her “father” then she surely would’ve shaken in her boots. _ So obedient? _ Gin thought while looking at his disgraceful daughter bow towards him. It was a first for him to see her like this, not the fiery, fierce girl that disobeyed him at every chance she got.

Lin was completely shocked, but she hid it well. _ What is she planning now? Trying to act obedient to tempt father on her side to turn the tables on her? Not going to work, I’m father’s favorite after all. _ Her watery eyes flashed with confusion and anger but quickly settled down to happiness. After seeing her wound on her cheek, she immediately understood that she was doing this out of fear. Father wouldn’t dare hurt Lysithea after showing this side of her since she was so obedient. 

This made her even prideful, but she wasn’t stupid enough to flaunt that in front of her father. Lin stood behind her father, hidden form his gaze, secretly mocking the situation between him and Lysithea. It was rather amusing to her, seeing the person she despised the most be in this predicament. Gin was secretly relieved that Lysithea agreed to not cause anymore trouble to her sister. Glancing down he noticed she was hidden well underneath the darkness of the room, making it hard to see her form. 

The moonlight from the outside slowly flowed into the room until it fully illuminated her appearance. When Gin saw her disheveled appearance and pig like face, his eyes flashed with disgust. “Well have a good night Lysithea. Just stay obedient and try not to cause anymore trouble for your sister.” Gin left shortly after, followed by Lin, who gave her own look of disgust before leaving. Lysithea sat in silence as she listened to the sounds of footsteps into the distance before silence befell the room once more. 

A smile began to creep into her face as she gazed around the pale, moonlit room. "I wonder how long my destiny will be like this..." She mumbled to herself as she looked at the pale white glow of the moon. Just then a shooting star briefly shot across the night sky, before completely disappearing under the moonlight. 

It was as if the gods themselves were answering her pleas…

* * *

As Marianne had been settled in the main residence for a long time, she understood in her heart that the Ordelia family was greedy and harsh towards her young miss. How dare they treat her master like this? Even though they weren’t blood related, they should at least treat her with some dignity and respect. Just thinking about Lysithea’s situation between her family, the maid sighed with contempt towards the family’s heads. When she arrived back in her room, she truly understood the weight that her master was in. There was no mistake that her master was living in inhumane conditions.

Marianne observed a shabby and decaying air permeating the tight spaces of the residence and traces of rain water seeping through the walls from the leaking roof. The blanket on the bed was also extremely thin. Even the most basic utensils were particularly defective; cracks and dents within the silverware. Living in such a damp and dark house, it would be odd if the body was not frail. Her lady was in such a frail, sickened state compared to the other ladies living at the residence. Even looking at her lady's body, Marianne could make out the outline of bone in her thin, fragile arms. It made her even more angry that her lady was sickly and yet the main residence didn’t even care to send the family physician her way.

They would really want to bully her this badly? Even for being only 10 years old girl, her body was fragile and weak. Even more so, at a glance, this did not look like a wealthy lady’s chamber at all. This was not a suitable place even for a noble woman to live in. Even the lowest-ranked slave in this residence, perhaps, did not live in places as deplorably as this. And yet her lady was always the one that accepted this without causing an issue to that so called family.

Marianne headed into the room, placing the logs neatly into the fireplace. “How was the trip to the main house?” Her blue hair was disheveled and mangled, scattered around together in clumps. Her entire body was aching from head to toe, however, she kept her best smile on her face; eager to not worry her mistress in anyway. “I managed to sneak and grab a few logs. However I was almost caught by Madam Alice so I had to leave a couple behind.” In total, she only managed to sneak out 8 logs. Marianne conjured a small fireball in her hands and placed into the logs, igniting them.

She was a low tier mage, often keeping her abilities a secret in fear of getting separated from her miss. There was no need to develop her abilities as she didn't want to be separated from her lovely miss. "Marianne, why do you stay with me? If you made your status known then, you wouldn't need to live such a hard lie with me…" Marianne stopped her there. They had this discussion before, whether or not she should leave her master behind in search of more favorable employment opportunities. Her mind was already made up when they met for the first time 5 years ago on that dreadful morning.

"There is no need for me to leave you. I swore to you that day I would look after you, Lysithea. You are my dearest friend and I promise I won't let anything happen to you on my watch." She said this to her lady with confidence. Normally she wouldn't dare to use her lady's first name but this was an exception, she needed to know where her feelings lie when it concerned her. 

Sure; say she left to study with other mages, but what would happen to her lady? This was a what if situation? She was afraid that something terrible would happen to her miss if she would to leave; those scoundrels would surely find a new way to torment her. That was a risk she wasn’t willing to take. Besides Marianne could feel that her master would eventually stand on her own and take down those that bullied her; this she believed deeply in her heart. 

Little did she know that looking back on this decision years from now, she would be proud of it. The little mage wouldn't trade this decision in the world, even years later into her marriage; she would look back on these years fondly. She was loyal to Lysithea even until her last breath. Taking a white, dirty cloth from her pocket, Marianne pulled out two large sized pork buns. They were still steaming too, the smell of hot greasy food made its way into Lysithea's nose. Her nostrils flared up in anguish once the delicious smelling food creep-ed it's way into her nose.

Both the girls mouths began to water the longer they continued to look at the buns in front of them. It wasn't much to other noble families alike but to them, it was like a massive feast laid out. Along with the two buns, Marianne managed to collect snow into the kettle for the fire. There was already utensils in the room so there was no need to go back to the main house for any reason. “I managed to sneak this past that old shrew before she got a whiff. Let’s eat this before someone comes to see what we have to eat.” Marianne wasted no time to bring her own meat bun into her mouth.

The young maid savored the flavors, from both the spices and the meat combined, as she took a bite out of the juicy bun. It was like heaven to them, even though they didn't get a chance to eat like this often; they found a new appreciation for food. Lysithea followed her example, yet taking a smaller bite out of her own meat bun. She was happy to finally have something other than wasted leftovers for food. Grease slowly began to trickle down the corner of her mouth the long she ate.“It might be greasy but those cows sure won’t miss these.” Lysithea was full of smiles as she continued to eat. Marianne nodded, too eager to enjoy their meal.

They enjoyed this meal to their fullest.


End file.
